NESA Community Service Awards

In the fall of 1998, the NESA Board of Directors and the NESA teacher representatives from regular member schools collaborated to establish and fund annual grants to service projects at NESA regular member schools which bring faculty and students together in an on-going effort to serve the less fortunate in their host communities.

Funds raised through a charity raffle at the annual NESA Spring Educators Conference are matched up to $1,500 by the NESA Board. Each year, a minimum of three and maximum of five grants of $500-$750 are awarded. Applications are accepted December 1 - February 1.

Programs and projects at NESA regular member schools only are eligible to receive grants. If you are an educator at a NESA regular member school and are interested in applying for a grant, please see your Teacher Representative for the application form.

2007 NESA COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS

More than US $2,800 was raised at the 2007 Spring NESA Educators Conference in Athens, Greece! Grants were awarded to the following projects:

“Nation to Nation Flip-Flop Frenzy” — Kodaikanal International School, India
Coordinators: Brian and Heather Nelsen

On February 5th, 2008 on a very hot, sticky and dusty day, grades 3-6 of the KIS elementary school hurried to the bus to take the trip to Poombarai village to distribute 1200 pairs of flip-flops. It was an amazing event that inspired all and opened our eyes to the needs of the people around us. The KIS students put on two incredible dramas and a song and dance that told the importance of wearing shoes (all in Tamil!).

Off again on April 15th, the KIS students from grades 1-5 distributed the remainder of the flip-flops to another village school in Kombai, with 170 students. The same health dramas and song were performed in order to get the message across. We also handed out health kits to every child that consisted of a soap dish, soap, a toothbrush, toothpaste, face cloth, hair brush, nit comb, nail cutter, nail brush and a small mirror. This year, the health kits were donated by Amanda Murphy from Teddy Exports — thank you Mrs Murphy for your generosity! KIS students are working on raising funds for next year’s supply of health kits to the five villages.

The flip-flop idea was the brainchild of Cathy Carver, principal of Berkeley Accelerated Middle School, after a training visit to KIS, when she noticed almost all of the village children did not have shoes. In two months, Berkeley students collected 1400 pairs of flip-flops and sent them to India! With the help of CLC Village Development Program, KIS students measured 1400 feet and sorted 1400 flip-flops.

We will use the $500 awarded to the ES by NESA towards other projects the KIS elementary students have come up with such as bathrooms, clean water and libraries for the village schools.

“Our Role in Fighting Hunger” — ACS Amman, Jordan
Coordinator: Wafa Khoury

ACS students assisted Tkiyet Um Ali (TUA) in its goal to eliminate hunger in Jordan by 2015. According to TUA, 770,000 Jordanians live below the poverty line, and 14 percent of all citizens suffer severe shortages of basic life requirements. TUA was established in 2002 by HRH Princess Haya Bint Al-Hussein in memory of her mother, HRM Queen Alia.

TUA provides a daily lunch to 700-1000 people in the poorer part of East Amman. During Ramadan, ACS students helped chefs prepare the Iftar meal, then assisted mothers with children and the elderly to carry their trays, and helped feed the children. After Iftar, the students helped clean up the dining room. Additionally, ACS students helped pack 1000 meals delivered to those in remote areas unable to come to the TUA facilities.

To assist in a nationwide promotion of TUA, ACS students stuffed envelopes with brochures about TUA for distribution to homes, offices, malls, etc.. They also sold lottery tickets to raise funds for TUA’s School Feeding Program, enough to provide breakfast for 400 children in rural schools. The NESA grant will be used toward this program.

www.tkiyetumali.org

“The Village Project” — ACS Athens, Greece
Coordinator: Ellen Froustis-Vriniotis

After the devastating fires in Greece the summer of 2007, ACS Athens searched for a local village in need to support long after the initial outpouring of donations and relief has ended; the village of Lepreo was identified. It was trying to save the last elementary school in the area from closing, where up to 17 children, grades 1-6, attend daily classes. The 80-year-old school house had survived the fire, but the mountain, just 10 meters behind the school, has burned, and children were in danger from mud and rock slides.

In November, 2007, ACS tenth grade students visited the area, met with local youth and assessed the needs of the school. During a meeting with the president of Lepreo, the possibility of a partnership was discussed to upgrade the school facilities with a commitment to create a cultural and educational center to benefit youth of all ages in Lepreo and nearby villages. The center will feature computers, a library, interactive boards, teleconferencing capabilities and scholarships for top students to attend ACS Athens or to continue to university. Fundraising efforts began with proceeds donated from the award-winning performance of the Apology Project at ACS’s Halandri Arts Theater.

This mutual collaboration between ACS and Lepreo will continue the next few years, with the ACS community contributing time, funds, expertise or resources, to nurture the young minds of a rural community that was burned and left without hope for a better future.

“Huay Hoi, Thailand, Middle School Project” — ACS Abu Dhabi, UAE
Coordinator: Bonnie Bertoia

As part of ACS Abu Dhabi’s “Week Without Walls” program, eighth grade students have traveled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, to do service work to improve the lives of the Hill Tribe people. In previous years, students have visited schools to paint, plant trees and give gifts to the school and the students. Last November, students stayed overnight in Huay Hoi, a Karen village. For many, it was the first time they had stayed in a place without a bed, running water and electricity. As part of the trip to northern Thailand, ACS purchased 75 fruit-bearing trees, which were planted by ACS students and village children.

Students were so affected by the experience, they started a service project for Huay Hoi, that involves the entire Middle School. Fundraising will be organized around bake sales, movie days, carnival events and numerous advisory activities to support the Huay Hoi project in the Middle School for years to come.


Huay Hoi School, four rooms , grades 1-12.New projects for the 2008 trip include improvements to the school cafeteria, toilets and planting more trees. The NESA grant will be used for school supplies, more fruit bearing trees, thank you gifts for the village children and resources for the cafeteria: dishes, cooker, hot water tank, bathrooms, etc. Additionally, the funds will support projects that improve the toilets, running water and the existing solar power project.

Visit the ACS student created wiki: wwwacs.pbwiki.com

 

2007 NESA COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS

The following programs were each awarded a grant at the March, 2007 NESA Spring Educators Conference in Athens, Greece:

Schutz American School “The Mother Teresa Home”
Coordinator, Kelly Marie Sullivan

“Children of KE.PE.P Lehenon” ACS Athens
Coordinator, Ellen Froustis-Vriniotis

“Habitat For Humanity” - AIS Chennai
Coordinator, Karen Kinsella

 

2006 NESA COMMUNITY SERVICE AWARDS

The following programs were each awarded a grant at the March, 2006 NESA Teachers' Conference in Bangkok, Thailand:

"Shatby Children's Hospital" - Schutz American School, Alexandria, Egypt
Coordinator: Kelly Marie Sullivan

"High School Reach Out Program" - The American Embassy School, New Delhi
Coordinators: Sangeeta Kala & John McCandless

"In Support of the Orphaned and Abandoned: SOS Children's Village" - American Community School, Amman, Jordan
Coordinator: Wafa Khoury

"Earthquake Relief Project" - Karachi American School, Pakistan
Coordinator: Andrea Khan